Congregation Or-Ami: Through Different Eyes

Greetings of peace to all.

My name is Rabbi Shalem Yeshurun. I am the spiritual leader of Congregation Or-Ami in College Park.

We are a new congregation working on growing to be a vital part of the community at large.

Being African-American and understanding and living a Hebraic/Judaic lifestyle can be a little hairy sometimes. But despite all the ups and downs, we continue to strive for excellence.

Rosh Hashanah, also called Yom Teruah in the Torah, is a time when we embrace our undying love for Hashem and realize that his mercy toward us is ever so real. It is a time for us in my opinion to really look within and ask ourselves how we can do better in the new year.

Well, to start, we can understand that Hashem is the G-d of the whole earth. As is stated in Psalms Chapter 24: “The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the world and they who dwell therein.”

Once we come to the realization that we are all created equal in His eyes, then we can begin to truly love our neighbors as ourselves.

Then we can stand together unified under the banner of Torah and truly mean it when we say, “Hinei ma tovu manayim, shevet achim gam yachad.”

L’shana tova.

Rabbi Shalem Yeshurun is the spiritual leader of Congregation Or-Ami.